Records

Ave.

Ave.

0-0

Top 16

0-0

8-0

Regular Season

6-2

8-0

Overall

6-2

Referees

Crew Chief

BELOSEVIC, ILIJA, Serbia

Referee

ZAMOJSKI, JAKUB, Poland

Umpire

PATERNICO, CARMELO, Italy

The Take

First place in Group C is on the line in the clash of top-class teams. Barcelona will clinch first place if it wins or losses by a single point; Barca beat Fenerbahce Ulker 78-80 in Istanbul last month. A Fenerbahce victory will clinch it at least second place with a chance to play for first in Round 10. Barcelona will be without Brad Oleson and Juan Carlos Navarro could be out too, leaving extended playing time on the wings to youngsters Alex Abrines and Mario Hezonja. The Turkish champs will aim to capitalize through Andrew Goudelock and Ricky Hickman. Semih Erden comes off a strong performance and will join Luka Zoric inside to challenge the hosts’ center duo of Ante Tomic and Tibor Pleiss. Fenerbahce has great strength at forward with Jan Vesely, Nemanja Bjelica and Emir Preldzic, who will push counterparts Justin Doellman, Boki Nachbar and Deshaun Thomas. With two deep and talented teams, no result would be a surprise.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Euroleague.net

Game Notes

FC Barcelona
Barcelona boasts one of the league’s best perimeter defenses; it is second three-point shots allowed (42) and three-point shooting percentage by opponents (29.0%).
Juan Carlos Navarro has made 29 consecutive free throws in Euroleague action.
Marcelinho Huertas needs 4 more steals to reach the century mark for his Euroleague career.
Marcelinho needs 20 more assists to reach the Euroleague‘s career top 10. Huertas enters this week 12th all-time with 539 career assists. Omar Cook (544 assists) is 11th and Zoran Planinic (559) 10th.
Marcelinho shined against Fenerbahce Ulker last season to the tune of 23 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and a performance index rating of 30 to lead Barcelona to a 73-76 Top 16 victory in Istanbul.
Brad Oleson has made 16 straight free throws in Euroleague games.
Oleson had his best offensive night of the season last month against Fenerbahce Ulker with 16 points on 4-of-4 three-point shooting.
Ante Tomic lined up alongside Fenerbahce Ulker big man Lukas Zoric on the Croatian national team that reached the semifinals at EuroBasket 2013. Tomic and Zoric also spent a season-and-a-half together at KK Zagreb.
Tibor Pleiss was a teammate of Fenerbahce Ulker forward Nemanja Bjelica during the 2012-13 season at Cajal Laboral Vitoria.
Alex Abrines was a teammate of Fenerbahce Ulker big man Luka Zoric at Unicaja during the 2011-12 season.
Boki Nachbar comes off his best offensive game of the season with 17 points on 5-of-5 three-point shooting last week at PGE Turow.

Fenerbahce Ulker
Andrew Goudelock has made at least 1 three-pointer in each of his team’s eight Euroleague games this season.
Emir Preldzic needs 33 more points to reach 1,000 points for his Euroleague career.
Preldzic needs 3 more steals to reach the century mark for his Euroleague career.
Ricky Hickman has recorded at least 1 steal in nine consecutive Euroleague games.
Nemanja Bjelica has recorded at least 1 steal in eight consecutive Euroleague games.
Bjelica proved to be especially effective against FC Barcelona last season with a pair of double-doubles in four meetings. Including the first game this season, he has averaged 16 points on 10 of 17 three-point shooting (58.8%) and 7.8 rebounds in the last four meetings.
Bjelica was a teammate of three Barcelona players at different periods between 2010 and 2013 at Laboral Kutxa Vitoria. He overlapped for much of the time with Brad Oleson and also played alongside Marcelinho Huertas and Maciej Lampe.
Luka Zoric scored a season-high 18 points and added 10 rebounds for his first – and to date only – Euroleague double double as a Fenerbahce Ulker player against FC Barcelona last month.
Jan Vesely and Barcelona guard Tomas Satoransky have been teammates playing for the Czech Republic national team.
Vesely had one of the best games of his Euroleague career back in 2010 for Partizan Belgrade against FC Barcelona. He scored 13 points, grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds and added 2 steals and 1 block in leading his team to a 67-66 overtime victory. He finished with a career-high index rating of 27.
Melih Mahmutoglu had one of his best Euroleague performances last season against FC Barcelona. He scored 15 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting in a 73-76 home loss in the Top 16.
Semih Erden leads the Euroleague in scoring on a per-minute basis with a prorated average of 26.0 points per 40 minutes.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI

FC Barcelona

"We want to conquer first place after our good regular season. And we are eager to do it at home with our people. It is one of the most beautiful nights you can live in European basketball as we receive a great Fenerbahce. They have a complete team, with superathletic players and many points in their hands. They have one of the best rosters in the Euroleague, no question. Goudelock is their referent, he is at his prime right now."

OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul

"This game is against the leader of our group. It's always difficult to play against FC Barcelona in their court, but we'll try to play our best possible game."

Players

HEZONJA, MARIO

FC Barcelona

"We have two important injuries against Fenerbahce and the rest of the team will have to step up. I try to give my best in every game I play to try help the team. I get ready both mentally and physically."

GOUDELOCK, ANDREW

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul

"The first game was well-fought, it went down to the wire. So I am expecting the same from this one. They have some players missing, a diferent type of game, and have some players back that weren't in the first game, so it will be different. We've been playing well the last month or so, so I relly want to see how far we have come since the last time we played them."

Bjelica's heroics lift Fenerbahce past Barcelona

In a great battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague powerhouses in Group C, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul needed overtime to down previously undefeated FC Barcelona 89-91 on the road on Thursday. Fenerbahce improved to 7-2 in Group C while Barcelona dropped to 8-1. Barcelona has virtually locked first place as both teams exchanged two-point wins while its overall score difference (+110 to Fenerbahce's +50) makes it almost impossible to overcome if Fenerbahce wins and Barcelona loses next week. Bogdan Bogdanovic paced the winners with 23 points, but Nemanja Bjelica was the man of the game, forcing overtime with a tip-in and hitting the go-ahead layup with 2.9 seconds left. Jan Vesely added 16 points and 10 rebounds, Bjelica scored 13, Andrew Goudelock 12 and Ricky Hickman 11. Marcelinho Huertas led Barcelona with 25 points. DeShaun Thomas added 23 while Justin Doellman and Mario Hezonja each had 12 for the hosts, who trailed 37-42 at halftime, but got a 61-59 lead after three quarters. A big basket by Huertas gave Barcelona a 79-77 lead with 32.7 seconds left in regulation, but Bjelica forced overtime with a tip-in. Once in the extra period, Ante Tomic tied the game with an off-balance shot, but he missed the free throw that came with it. Bjelica sealed the outcome with the game-winning basket.

First quarter: Thomas shines, Fenerbahce leads

Thomas got Barcelona going with a layup and soon added a jump hook for a 4-0 lead. Semih Erden stepped up with a three-point play, but a red-hot Thomas scored again and a dunk by Alex Abrines boosted the hosts' lead to 8-3. Goudelock struck from downtown, but Thomas erased it with a layup-plus-foul. A dunk by Erden kept Fenerbahce within 11-8. After Bogdanovic nailed a step-back triple, Ante Tomic hit a jump hook. Free throws by Abrines restored a 15-11 Barcelona margin. Ricky Hickman joined Fenerbahce's three-point shootout, but an outstanding Thomas gave the hosts fresh air at 17-14. Free throws by Nemanja Bjelica and a layup by Bogdanovic gave the guests their first lead, 17-18. Thomas answered from downtown, but Hickman hit foul shots and a layup by Luka Zoric caused Barcelona to call timeout at 19-22. Thomas hit foul shots and a running jumper by Marcelinho tied it at 23-23. Zoric allowed Fenerbahce to regain a 23-25 edge after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Erden, Bogdanovic boost Fenerbahce's margin

Huertas hit an acrobatic jumper early in the quarter, as Barcelona improved its defense. Fenerbahce was held scoreless for two minutes until Goudelock nailed a one-handed jumper in the lane. Huertas answered from beyond the arc and a close basket by Tibor Pleiss gave the hosts a 30-27 edge. Bogdanovic buried a big triple and a running jumper by Goudelock put Fenerbahce back ahead, 30-32. Tomas Satoransky provided a highlight with a one-handed dunk, which Vesely erased with a high-flying alley-oop slam. Bogdanovic fired in a mid-range jumper and scored in penetration for a 32-38 Fenerbahce edge. Barcelona tried twin point guards with Satoransky and Huertas together on court. Erden took over with a tip-in and matched Thomas's foul shots with a two-handed dunk. A buzzer-beating slam by Thomas fixed the halftime score at 37-42.

Third quarter: Doellman puts Barcelona ahead

Doellman, who had been scoreless until this point, buried a three-pointer immediately after the break. Hezonja also struck from downtown for a 43-42 Barcelona lead. Fenerbahce struggled to score for almost three minutes until Bogdanovic stepped up with a layup, but Doellman followed a six-meter jumper with a tip-in for a 47-44 Barcelona lead. Emir Preldzic buried a triple - his first points, too. Tomic fed Thomas for a layup, which Vesely matched with a second-chance basket. Tomic kept pacing Barcelona with free throws and a fast break layup by Huertas caused the guests to call timeout at 53-49. Vesely scored again, but Hezonja did better with a three-pointer. Goudelock answered with a floater and a corner triple by Bogdanovic tied it at 56-56. Hezonja connected from downtown, but Vesely scored around the basket and Bogdanovic tied it at 59-59. Doellman banked in a close shot for a 61-59 Barcelona edge.

Fourth quarter: Edge-of-your-seat drama

Vesely took over with an acrobatic basket early in the quarter. Maciej Lampe quickly answered with a tip-in, which Goudelock bettered with a three-pointer in transition for a 63-64 Fenerbahce lead. Doellman split free throws, but Bjelica struck from downtown to put the guests back ahead, 64-67. Vesely split foul shots and Hezonja rescued Barcelona with a three-pointer to make it 67-68 with six minutes left. Huertas took over with a wild driving layup, as Barcelona excelled on defense right when it mattered most. Bjelica stepped up with a three-pointer to restore a 69-71 Fenerbahce edge with three minutes left. Huertas scored in penetration and added free throws for a 73-71 Barcelona lead. Thomas ignited the crowd with a two-handed slam, but Bjelica split free throws and a fast break layup by Hickman made it 75-74 with 58 seconds left. Huertas hit foul shots but a three-point play by Bogdanovic tied it at 77-77 with 48.6 seconds left. Huertas nailed an off-balance shot, but a tip-in by Bjelica tied it again, 79-79, with 14.6 seconds to go. Huertas and Bogdanovic missed respective off-balance shots down the stretch.

Overtime: Bjelica comes through

Hickman struck from downtown early in the extra period, but Huertas swished one from beyond the arc to tie the game again, 82-82. Doellman buried his trademark turnaround jumper, which Vesely erased with a layup. Huertas split free throws on Hickman's fifth foul, which Vesely bettered with a monster slam for a 85-86 Fenerbahce edge with two minutes left. Vesely split free throws and an off-balance layup by Tomic tied it again, 87-87. Fenerbahce got the ball back and Barcelona fouled Bogdanovic, who made both attempts for an 87-89 Fenerbahce edge with 13 seconds left. Huertas drew a foul and made both attempts, but a layup by Bjelica in the closing seconds won it Fenerbahce!

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI

FC Barcelona

"Congratulations to Fenerbahce for its win and thanks to our fans for helping us out. Until the end, the result, trailing by 1 or 2 points, was enough for us to seal first place in this group, which is our main goal. We deserved to have the chance to win, especially in the second half. We lacked a bit of experience, picking up some turnovers in inbounding situations, which could have allowed us to win the game. Even with that, I want to congratulate my players for their effort tonight. We always want to win and logically, we don't like a loss like this. We had several chances to win the game, they forced overtime on an offensive rebound, we allowed a three-point play in a critical moment, missed some free throws and committed some turnovers. A lot of different things happened during the game, but we didn't win the game. We did a lot of things well, but we had too many turnovers to win this game, but the final score may allow us to finish first in this group. We missed experienced players like Juan Carlos Navarro and Brad Oleson. We paid a high price for only having four frontcourt players. I believe either of the teams could have won the game."

OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul

"I think that the game was not important for any of the teams because everything was decided in our group; Barcelona was going to be first, us second, Panathinaikos third and Milan fourth. It doesn't matter. My players were looking forward to playing a good game and in the end, we managed get something. We played a game against Barcelona, which played really well despite being without two very important players, Navarro and Oleson, and after losing Abrines during the game due to injury. I congratulate my players and also Barcelona for everything it did in the group. We are all waiting for the most important games, the Top 16. As I always say, it is great to win here. We had a great regular season last year and after that, we went down. We have to take one game at a time; I don't think you can play against any Euroleague team and expect an easy win. It is very difficult and the way things are, our Top 16 group will be very, very difficult. We will fight and have the support of our fans. If we want to do something important, we have to play better than we did today."

Players

TOMIC, ANTE

FC Barcelona

"Even though the game was not very important for the standings, I feel good. I don't like losing, especially the way we lost tonight. We had the game in our hands, but a series of mistakes cost us this loss. We played really well throughout the whole Euroleague season and didn't really need this loss."

BJELICA, NEMANJA

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul

"I am very happy with this win; you don't win in Barcelona every day. It was a great game, really balanced, in which both teams had chances to win. The final play was not designed for me, but I got some space, got the ball at the right time and just had to score the ball."